The London Olympics is a tough act for any sporting challenge to follow. Over the years RJP has and continues to support and sponsor community sports initiatives – Surbiton Hockey Club and Thames Ditton Cricket Club being two local ones. When the organisers of GB Row approached RJP to sponsor their rowing challenge, we were immediately taken by the sheer inventiveness and challenge of this event. (more…)
Leave a Comment May 23, 2013
Anyone who runs a limited company and works as a freelance consultant or contractor will be aware of IR35 and how it can affect their tax liability. The IR35 legislation was originally introduced in the 1990s to expose taxpayers who were effectively employees but were being paid for their services through a limited company and therefore able to reduce their tax and national insurance liabilities. (more…)
Leave a Comment May 23, 2013
Earlier this month it was confirmed by HMRC that all UK overseas territories – The Cayman Islands, Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, Jersey, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Isle of Man, Montserrat and the Turks and Caicos Islands – now have in place automatic tax disclosure deals with the Government. This means they are automatically exchanging financial information with the UK and France, Germany, Italy and Spain to identify taxpayers who are under-declaring their income.
Leave a Comment May 23, 2013
Over the past few months we have blogged about the issue of corporate entities and the benefits of a business considering different structures, which may include an LLP or a limited company. Limited liability partnerships (LLPs) are a popular choice for those providing professional services because although they may not be as tax efficient as a limited company, they offer greater flexibility.
It is common for LLPs to have a ‘secondary’ band of partners, usually known as salaried partners. These partners will typically receive a salary and may perhaps be allocated a small share of business profits, they are usually treated as self employed and HMRC have not generally challenged this status. Now however, in line with HMRC’s strategy to close as many ‘loopholes’ of (what it regards as) tax avoidance as possible, there are some important changes to be aware of. (more…)
Leave a Comment May 14, 2013
One of the oldest adages in the world of tax is ‘never let the tax tail wag the commercial dog’ and we hear it repeated time and again. No one likes to pay high taxes but being seduced by the prospect of lower tax should never cloud one’s judgement and become the sole justification for a business decision.
When making tax planning decisions there are many factors to consider, not least of which is the long term consequence of a particular action. Today’s tax policies may have changed in two or three years’ time and reversing a decision can be costly. In some instances, flexibility can be the most important consideration for a business, even if it means paying slightly higher taxes; this issue often lies at the heart of deciding which business structure to adopt. (more…)
Leave a Comment April 25, 2013
The issue of whether or not to incorporate your business into a limited company is a topic previously discussed in our blog. There can be clear tax planning advantages to incorporation as it creates flexibility over levels of income chargeable to personal tax, and prevents profits immediately becoming chargeable to tax at the highest personal tax rates. There are other, commercial benefits too. (more…)
Leave a Comment April 19, 2013
HMRC has recently turned its attentions to property owners and investors with the launch of new taskforces and initiatives to recover additional tax revenues. Firstly, aimed at buy-to-let landlords in the South East, HMRC currently has a taskforce monitoring the activities of landlords whose self assessment tax returns may not reflect the value of their property portfolios. If you have rental property and think you may have underpaid tax, please seek professional advice. This particular initiative is not accompanied by an opportunity for landlords to avoid penalties for outstanding tax owed and any declarations should be treated with caution to avoid further enquiries being opened. (more…)
Leave a Comment April 9, 2013
In our Budget review last month we mentioned one interesting announcement of a new tax relief, which had not been expanded upon in HMRC’s release notes. This is the opportunity for employee shareholders to dispose of shares without incurring capital gains tax (CGT). Further details have now been published and present an interesting new proposal for owner managed companies to consider.
These new proposals effectively require an employee to relinquish some of their employment rights and adopt a new ‘employee shareholder’ employment status. They are then able to acquire shares in their employing company through the adoption of this status. These shares will in turn attract new tax reliefs which will ensure that shares acquired up to a value of £2,000 will not attract tax and national insurance contributions when they are acquired, and sale proceeds received of up to £50,000 from eventually selling the shares will not be charged to capital gains tax. (more…)
Leave a Comment April 4, 2013
Each year at Budget time we consider how positive the announcements are for owner managed businesses in particular. For instance, the news of the corporation tax reduction to 20% from 2015 is for those paying the main rate and not relevant for small businesses. Similarly the extension to the ‘above the line’ R&D tax credits initiative is also for larger companies only. This blog has also been published in Growth Business magazine. (more…)
Leave a Comment March 21, 2013
Tax planning and the work undertaken by a company secretary are closely connected. Directors of owner-managed companies often misunderstand this inter-relationship. For limited companies, there are issues relating to shareholdings and dividend payments, which can impact tax levels, depending on the way they have been allocated. Below are two scenarios highlighting how your tax bills might be impacted by poor company secretarial advice. (more…)
Leave a Comment March 21, 2013
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